Scottish man who who rode jet ski across Irish Sea to visit girlfriend arrested for Covid breach

According to the island’s Covid-19 regulations, non-residents are banned from entering without special permission.  McLaughlan’s lawyer said that he had applied for a fresh permit twice, but his request was denied on both occasions. 

A man who crossed the Irish Sea from Scotland on a jet ski to visit his girlfriend in the Isle of Man has been arrested for four weeks for violating Covid-19 guidelines by unlawfully entering the island without permission. 

Dale McLaughlan, a 28-year-old from North Ayrshire in Scotland, took four-and-a-half hours to travel from the Isle of Whithorn along the Scottish west coast to Ramsey on the east coast of Isle of Man to visit his partner, BBC reported. 

McLaughlan, who has no prior experience in riding a water scooter, had initially believed he would be able to complete the journey in 40 minutes, prosecutors said. 

After arriving in Ramsey, he walked about 25 km to his girlfriend’s house. The next day he gave a police officer his girlfriend’s address, claiming that it was his own. However, following identification checks, local police arrested him on Sunday evening, the BBC report stated. 

But according to the island’s Covid-19 regulations, non-residents are banned from entering without special permission.  McLaughlan’s lawyer said that he had applied for a fresh permit twice, but his request was denied on both occasions. 

He had met his girlfriend while working as a roofer in the island for four weeks in September. In mitigation, his advocate said that he was suffering from depression and was struggling to cope without being able to see his partner, the Guardian reported. 

The couple allegedly visited two busy nightclubs prior to his arrest. But speaking soon after the hearing, a government spokesperson said that public health officials believed there was “no wider risk to the public”, BBC reported. 

Source: Read Full Article